Academic Courses

Undergraduate Course Link

Online Interest Form [submit here]

There is still time to register for the Fall 2025 Intergroup Dialogue academic course

The first step is to submit an online interest form. It takes just 5-10 minutes and we regularly reply within 48 hours. If you have any questions about the course or submitting the form, feel free to reach out to program assistant Steven Contreras [stcontre@syr.edu].

For Fall 2025, the Intergroup Dialogue Program is offering SOC WGS CRS CFE 230: Intergroup Dialogue – Race and Ethnicity at the Intersections. The class meets weekly on Wednesdays from 3:45 to 6:30 pm and emphasizes a highly interactive, experiential and reflective, learning environment.

The course is open to students across colleges, majors, and years and meets the Arts & Sciences critical reflections requirement.

Intergroup Dialogue (IGD) may also be applied toward the School of Education Atrocity Studies and the Practices of Social Justice minor, the School of Social Work Social Justice minor, as well as the Mindfulness & Contemplative Studies minor. The course addresses two of the six university-wide learning goals for students: communication skills; and ethics, integrity, and commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Intergroup Dialogue brings students together across multiple social divides, often with a history of conflict and/or unequal power relations, and limited opportunities to engage in deep and meaningful discussion of challenging societal issues.

Intergroup Dialogue is a research-based pedagogy  developed in higher education and practiced across school, organizational, and community contexts. The course covers:

• Understanding social identities and the role of social structures and institutions in creating and maintaining inequality
• Developing intergroup and other communication skills
• Planning and enacting collaboration across difference

IGD is organized around multi-disciplinary readings (e.g., historical, sociological, psychological, personal narratives), experiential learning activities, small group work, and reflective writing and additional exercises. Students analyze and learn about issues facing groups on campus, in higher education, and in broader society. The program invites students to learn and engage in Intergroup Dialogue as a form of Social Justice Education, engaging questions and practices of social responsibility. Class size is limited to enhance the quality of dialogue, exchange, and learning across students.

Each intergroup dialogue is led by a team of two trained/experienced facilitators who frame and initiate co-learning through asking questions, identifying key points, guiding group process, and providing overall curricular structure for dialogue. This learning process builds community; explores differences, common ground, and intersections; and leads to in-depth discussion of persisting issues such as systemic racism. Students learn about coalitions and how to work together creatively in teams that encompass, acknowledge, and embrace different perspectives and experiences.

To learn more about our program’s facilitation team, visit Our Team. To learn what  students have to say about dialogue, visit Student Voices.

Graduate Course Link

CFE 640: Inequality and Intergroup Relations in Education

In 2025-26, the graduate-level course will be offered again by the faculty director of the Intergroup Dialogue Program, Gretchen Lopez, PhD. This course examines theory, research, and practice important for intergroup relations in education, within the context of racial, ethnic, class based and intersecting inequalities in broader U.S. society. The course covers the critical pedagogy of intergroup dialogue courses, as a form/praxis of social justice education, and serves as one step in the preparation of graduate student (Masters and Doctoral) co-facilitators for the IGD program’s curricular, co-curricular, and community offerings.

To learn more about graduate programs and courses in the interdisciplinary field of Cultural Foundations of Education, visit the School of Education website.

Gretchen Lopez (gelopez@syr.edu), Faculty Director of the Intergroup Dialogue Program, is Associate Professor of Cultural Foundations of Education and associated faculty in Women’s and Gender Studies. Professor Lopez applies a multidisciplinary, multi-method approach to studying inequality and the impact of social justice education. Her main research focuses on race and critical pedagogy in higher education and she has extended this work to engage high school students and consider the significance of university-community partnership. She led the university’s participation in the Multi-University Intergroup Dialogue Research Project, a nine-institution study of the educational benefits of intergroup dialogue for undergraduate students (Lopez & Zúñiga, 2010), and co-authored ”Intergroup Dialogue: Engaging Difference, Social Identities, and Social Justice” (Zúñiga, Lopez, & Ford, 2015). Professor Lopez received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (B.A., Psychology, Cornell University), and her work has been recognized through an Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Recognition Award, the Racial Justice Award from Interfaith Work’s Community Wide Dialogue to End Racism, and the Syracuse NAACP Youth Council Image Award for Education. Pronouns: she/they/gretchen

Steven Contreras (stcontre@syr.edu) is originally from the Bronx, NY. He graduated from Fordham University in 2011 while majoring in Sociology. He then moved to Syracuse, to work at Syracuse University where he earned his Master’s degree in Cultural Foundations of Education. Steven currently works at SUNY Upstate where he serves as the Director of Student Retention. His primary focus is working with students of color, rural students and low-income students. His interest for working with students started in undergrad when he was a student leader and Resident Advisor (RA) on campus. As a First-Generation college student himself trying to figure out college, Steven developed a passion for helping students navigate higher education. Steven finds dialogue a powerful tool and has participated and facilitated several dialogues including: Conversations About Race and Ethnicity (CARE) at Syracuse University, Men Against Social Stigma (MASS) at Buffalo State College, and Unsafe Spaces at SUNY Upstate. He has co-facilitated Dialogue on Race and Ethnicity and currently serves as a graduate assistant for the program. Pronouns: he/his/him

Easton Davis (edavis13@syr.edu) is a doctoral candidate in the Cultural Foundations of Education program and is pursuing a certificate of advanced study (CAS) in Women’s and Gender Studies. Easton joined the team in 2019 as the Graduate Assistant for the Intergroup Dialogue (IGD) program and co-facilitated the IGD course on Race and Ethnicity. In his past roles, he worked as a College Success Coordinator at Summer Search – a national youth development and college success organization in New York City and as an Academic Advisor at Reynolds Community College in Richmond, VA. In both complementary roles, he learned how vital developing students’ voices were in achieving success and the role of cultural capital in resistance to deficit-based theories, particularly for students of color. Easton also has co-facilitated Conversations About Race and Ethnicity (CARE), a Division of Student Affairs, Office of Multicultural Affairs co-curricular initiative, and the Transformative Dialogue for student leaders in the college of law. He has served as a Teaching Assistant for the Selective Studies in Education program and instructor for the Summer Start program through University College. Easton’s project, Homebase BIPOC Dialogues, a five-week co-curricular dialogue series, invited undergraduate students to explore elements of creative and cultural resistance rooted in love through poetry and dialogue. By centering Black bodies and (re)defining well-being, Easton’s dissertation topic seeks to understand creative and cultural resistance in education that creates more opportunities for educators and students to unlearn racism and situate the body as a site of reclamation. Easton holds a MS in Cultural Foundations of Education from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a minor in Black studies from Randolph-Macon College. Pronouns: he/him/his

Program Affiliates

Meredith Madden has served as facilitation coach with the Intergroup Dialogue Program at Syracuse University. She has published research on educational equity, social and racial justice, and curriculum and pedagogy including in peer-reviewed journals such as Equity and Excellence in Education and with the University of Illinois Press. Her recent book publications include Dear Students: 10 Letters to Transform and Empower Your Higher Education Journey, and Rise for Racial Justice: How to Talk about Race with Schools and Communities (co-authored with Colette Cann and Kimberly Williams Brown). Her teaching experience includes teaching as a middle-school special education teacher in the Bronx and Finger Lakes regions of New York State and she has over fifteen years teaching experience in higher education including at Hamilton College, Utica University, and Mohawk Valley Community College as well as Syracuse University. Dr. Madden received her Ph.D. in Cultural Foundations of Education from Syracuse University, a master’s degree in urban education from Mercy College, a master’s degree in public policy (social policy concentration) from George Washington University, and BA in sociology from William Smith College. Her work with SU Intergroup Dialogue students was recognized for innovation in academic achievement through the Chancellor’s Award for Public Engagement and Scholarship.

Courtney Mauldin is Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership in the Teaching & Leadership Department in the Syracuse University School of Education. Her scholarly research focuses on amplifying the voices and leadership practices of youth of color with particular attention to how youth perspectives are central to reimagining and transforming K-12 leadership and schools. In her most recent project, Dr. Mauldin uses a critical arts-based approach with elementary-aged youth to co-construct educator resources, influence school policy change, and integrate youth voice into the school setting in meaningful and innovative ways. Dr. Mauldin facilitates the Central New York Educators of Color Dialogue and runs the teen book club, The Breedlove Readers which she co-founded in Syracuse in Spring 2020. Prior to joining Syracuse University, Dr. Mauldin completed her doctoral degree at Michigan State University in Educational Leadership with a specialization in Urban Education.

Suzette Meléndez is Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Teaching Professor, at the Syracuse University College of Law. Professor Meléndez’s scholarly and teaching interests are in the area of family law, domestic violence and the delivery of legal services to women and children. She has directed the Children’s Rights and Family Law Clinic and teaches Family Law. In addition to litigation experience, Professor Meléndez has engaged in policy work on issues affecting litigants and practitioners including state and county domestic violence working groups, local and state bar associations, and judicial committees. She continues to work extensively on issues pursuing access to justice and the equitable treatment of all within the legal system as well as in our academic environments. Together with Intergroup Dialogue Program collaborators, Professor Meléndez developed and facilitated the Transformative Dialogue for Law Student Leaders. Professor Meléndez joined the College of Law in 2002; she earned a juris doctor from the University of Connecticut School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Jersey Cosantino (they/them), a former K-12 educator, is a doctoral candidate in Cultural Foundations of Education, holding certificates of advanced study in women’s and gender studies and disability studies. Jersey’s scholarship resides at the intersections of Mad studies and trans studies. Utilizing disability and transformative justice frameworks, their research centers the experiences and subjectivities of Mad, neurodivergent, trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming individuals. Through oral history and autoethnography, Jersey seeks to construct Mad trans archives that create pathways and portals to Mad trans futures. Using Mad trans methodologies that challenge sanism, ableism, and transmisia, Jersey’s research confronts medical model discourses and the pathologizing gaze of the psychiatric industrial complex. Jersey identifies as Mad, neurodivergent, queer, trans, and non-binary and is white with education and citizenship privilege. They are a co-facilitator for SU’s Intergroup Dialogue Program’s course Dialogue on Racism and Anti-Racism, a co-editor of the International Mad Studies Journal, and consulting editor for the Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education. Jersey holds a MA degree in high school English education (‘14) and a graduate certificate in mindfulness studies (‘19) from Lesley University, and a bachelor’s degree in English and studio art from Wellesley College (‘09). For the past four years, Jersey has engaged in peer support work via an abolitionist framework as a volunteer call operator with the Trans Lifeline.

Atiya McGhee (atmcghee@syr.edu) is a doctoral student in the Cultural Foundations of Education program at Syracuse University and is pursuing a certificate of advanced study (CAS) in Women’s and Gender Studies. Atiya’s work and research broadly spans various disciplines such as queer studies, disability studies, fat studies, and Black studies. Atiya identifies as a fat Black woman/non-binary queer person from the Bronx, NY. Using (auto)ethnography and intergroup dialogue, their research examines what a possible fat pedagogy outside the classroom can look like that critically interrupts “body terrorism” (Taylor, 2022) and the negative “body talk” associated with fatness. Atiya co-facilitated Politics of the Body: Fatphobia and Body Talk, a six-week co-curricular dialogue series that invited undergraduate and graduate students to reflect on their relationship to their body and fatness, particularly fatphobia and how it intersects with other systems of oppression to contribute to body terrorism (Taylor, 2022). Before attending Syracuse, Atiya worked for several years in Residential Life at various institutions. Atiya holds a Master of Education in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration from the University of Vermont, and a BA degree in Creative Writing and Literature from Wheaton College (MA). Pronouns: They/Them/Theirs

D. Romo (diromo@syr.edu) is a first-generation Xicanx doctoral candidate in Cultural Foundations of Education (CFE) at Syracuse University and served as a Publicly Active Graduate Education (PAGE) Co-Director at Imagining America. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) they worked on publicly engaged scholarship initiatives in their neighborhood through the Pico Neighborhood Association (PNA) and Pico Youth and Family Center (PYFC) to address issues of access to affordable housing and overdevelopment, unequal educational resources, and culturally relevant/sustaining pedagogies that recognize the experience, knowledge, and values of young people of color. It was within academic and community spaces that their interest in social justice education and activist-scholar identity emerged and they have continued this work in Syracuse, NY. While working on their M.S., Romo worked at SU’s Intergroup Dialogue Program (IGD) as Graduate Research Assistant and co-facilitator for the Dialogue on Socioeconomic Inequality & Education. As a doctoral student, Romo has worked with the high school/university partnership as a co-facilitator at a local alternative high school in the Syracuse City School District (Cultural Voices, Lit Arts). Cultural Voices is an English course that provides youth a space to analyze their individual experience as related to structural systems of power and privilege; and Lit Arts is an after-school program bridging art-based social justice education and intergroup dialogue to promote youth activism and civic engagement. Pronouns: they/them/theirs

Featured Publications Link

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Lopez, G. E., & Swords, D. (forthcoming). Intergroup dialogue students: Developing knowledge and skills for coalition building. In C. Banks & A. Vazquez (Eds.), No justice! No peace! College student activism, race relations, and media cultures. To be published by Peter Lang.

Davis, E. J. (2024, in press). Recipes of healing embodying rituals toward an endarkened feminist epistemology: Exploring the role of artmaking, music, and plant care in debriefing the body. In K. Hinton-Johnson, & L. Bailey, (Eds.), Research in educational embodiments: Life writing the body. Information Age.

Romo, D. & Scully, I.M.E. (2022). Theory in action: Indigenous pedagogies for antiracist teacher preparation education. In G. Martinez-Alba, J. Ruan & A. Hersi (Eds.), Antiracist teacher education: theory and practice.

Cosantino, J. (2022). Speaking out while speaking in: Transforming intergroup dialogues with mindfulness-based anti-racist practices. The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry, 8(1). 

Cosantino, J. (2021). Hauntings of longing: A Mad autoethnographic poetic transcription. Disability Studies Quarterly, 41(2).

Cosantino, J. (2021). The possibilities of an anti-oppression mindful dialogic pedagogy in the intergroup dialogue classroom: An autoethnographic exploration. Western Journal of Communication.

Zúñiga, X., Lopez, G. E., & Ford, K. A. (2021). Intergroup dialogue: Critical conversations about difference and social justice. In Hicks, S. (Ed.), Introduction to Intergroup Dialogues (pp. 3-7). Cognella.

Scully, I.M.E. (2021). Shapeshifting power: Trickster consciousness for navigating challenges in communities of care.  Seneca Falls Dialogue Journal, Vol. 4.

Cosantino, J., Gutierrez, A., & Krachman, S. (2020). Transforming education with mindfulness and an anti-oppression framework. In T. Heilers., T. Iverson, & B. Larrivee (Eds.), Educating mindfully: Stories of school transformation through mindfulness (pp. 74-79). Coalition of Schools Educating Mindfully.

Swords, D. (2019). Intergroup dialogue, social power, and conflict transformation. In M. F. Elman, C. Gerard, G. Golan, & L. Kriesberg (Eds.), Overcoming intractible conflicts: New approaches to constructive transformations. Rowman & Littlefield.

Zúñiga, X., Lopez, G. E., & Ford, K. A. (2018). Intergroup dialogue: Critical conversations about difference and social justice. In M. Adams, W. J. Blumfeld, D. C. J. Catalano, K. Dejong, H. W. Hackman, L. E. Hopkins, B. J. Love, M. L. Peters, D. Shlasko, & X. Zúñiga (Eds.), Readings for diversity and social justice (pp. 644-647). New York, NY: Routledge.

Brown Williams, K., & Steinwert, T (2016). How is it with your soul? Developing a liberatory consciousness through dialogue in campus ministries. In M. Charlton & K. Armistead (Eds.), The prophetic voice and making peace. Nashville, TN: Higher Education and Ministry.

Gurin, P., Sorensen, N., Lopez, G. E., & Nagda, B. A. (2015). Intergroup dialogue: Race still matters. In R. Bangs & L. E. Davis (Eds.), Race and social problems: Restructuring inequality (pp. 39-60). NY: Springer Press.

Madden, M. (2015). Social class dialogues and the fostering of class consciousness. Equity & Excellence in Education, 48(4), 571-588.

Lopez, G. E., & Nastasi, A. W. (2014). Writing the divide: High school students crossing urban-suburban contexts. In X. Zúñiga, G. E. Lopez, & K. A. Ford (Eds.), Intergroup dialogue: Engaging difference, social identities, and social justice (pp. 149-170). London and New York: Routledge.

Zúñiga, X., Lopez, G. E., & Ford, K. A. (2014). Intergroup dialogue: Critical conversations about difference and social justice. In X. Zúñiga, G. E. Lopez, & K. A. Ford (Eds.), Intergroup dialogue: Engaging difference, social identities, and social justice (pp. 1-24, rev. introduction). London and New York: Routledge.

Zúñiga, X., Lopez, G. E., & Ford, K. A. (Eds.) (2014). Intergroup dialogue: Engaging difference, social identities, and social justice. London and New York: Routledge.

Islam, N., Steinwert, T., & Swords, D. (2014). Dialogue in action: Toward a critical pedagogy for interfaith education. Journal of Interreligious Studies, 13, 4-10.

Gurin, P., Sorenson, N., Nagda, B. A., Stephan, W. G., Gonzalez, R., Lopez, G. E., & Rodriguez, J. (2013). Effects of intergroup dialogue: A focus on processes and outcomes. In P. Gurin, B. A. Nagda, & X. Zúñiga (Eds.), Dialogue across difference: Practice, theory, and research on intergroup dialogue. New York: Russell Sage.

Nastasi, A. W. (2012). Researching to transgress: The epistemic virtue of research with. In C. W. Ruitenberg (Ed.), Philosophy of Education Archive (pp. 258-265).

Lopez, G. E., & Nastasi, A. W. (2012). Writing the divide: High school students crossing urban-suburban contexts, Equity & Excellence in Education, 45(1).

Zúñiga, X., Lopez, G. E., & Ford, K. A. (2012). Intergroup dialogue: Critical conversations about difference, social identities, and social justice education [introduction]. Equity & Excellence in Education, 45(1).

Zúñiga, X., Lopez, G. E., & Ford, K. A. (Eds.) (2012). Intergroup dialogue: Engaging difference, social identities, and social justice [special issue]. Equity & Excellence in Education, 45(1).

Lopez, G. E., & Zúñiga, X. (2010). Intergroup dialogue and democratic practice in higher education. New Directions for Higher Education, 152, 35-42.

Selected Presentations Link

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Schenandoah, D., Catucci, S., Swords, D., & McLester, K. (2025, June). Orange Dialogue for Skä·noñh (Peace and Wellness). Presentation at the annual conference of the Native American Indian Education Association, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY.

Schenandoah, D., Catucci, S., Swords, D., McLester, K., & Washburn, M. (2025, March). Orange Dialogue for Skä·noñh (Peace and Wellness). Presentation as part of Syracuse University Office of Diversity and Inclusion Lunch and Learn Series, Syracuse, NY.

Davis, E., & Cosantino, J. (2023, November). Mapping the evolution of Intergroup Dialogues through an embodied, mindful, somatic healing justice-based praxis. Invited presentation at the Intergroup Dialogue Symposium, Mount Holyoke College, MA

Davis, E., & Mauldin, C. (2022, June). Creating a home in dialogue for educators of color online. Presentation as part of symposium, “Moving educational communities online: Dialogic pedagogy and impact during COVID.” Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) Summer Conference, San Juan, PR.

Lopez, G. E., Cosantino, J., & Davis, E. (2022, June). Facilitating Intergroup Dialogue: Creating inclusive and equitable educational communities online. Presentation as part of symposium, “Moving educational communities online: Dialogic pedagogy and impact during COVID.” Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) Summer Conference, San Juan, PR.

Cosantino, J. (2021, October). An Introduction to Infusing Anti-Oppressive Mindfulness Practices Into Peer Support: With a Focus on Supporting Trans, Non-binary, and Gender non-conforming Bodyminds. Workshop presentation for the Students Advocating Mental Health Empowerment (SAMHE) undergraduate peer support mental health workers at Syracuse University, online.

Davis, E. & Cosantino, J. (2021, June). Building Bridges Across Differences: Centering Coalition Building and Collective Liberation in the Context of Online Intergroup Dialogues. Workshop presentation at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE) online.

Scully, I.M.E. (2021, June). Dialogue with the Land, Dialogue with Each Other: Indigenous Teachings for Healing and Decolonial Futures. Research presentation at Arizona State University’s Cultivating Black and Native Futures in Education Conference [online].

Scully, I.M.E. (2021, June). Love Notes with the Land: Toward an Indigequeer Land Pedagogy in Dialogues Across Difference. Research presentation and workshop as part of “Indigenous Conversations Across Waters, Lands, Generations, and Imaginations” at the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA) Annual Meeting [online].

Cosantino, J. (2021, April). Speaking out while speaking in: Transforming intergroup dialogues with mindfulness-based anti-racist practices. Paper presentation as part of session, “Exploring the possibilities of an embodied dialogic praxis for personal transformation and collective liberation,” at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association [online].

Davis, E. (2021, April). Reclaiming the body: An authoethnography in the power of emotions in intergroup dialogue on race. Paper presentation as part of session, “Exploring the possibilities of an embodied dialogic praxis for personal transformation and collective liberation,” at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association [online].

Davis, E. & Cosantino, J. (2021, April). Exploring the Possibilities of an Embodied Dialogic Praxis for Personal Transformation and Collective Liberation. Workshop presentation at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting online.

Davis, E. & Cosantino, J. (2021, February). Coalition-building in the classroom: Utilizing mindful, embodied dialogic pedagogy for personal and collective empowerment, liberation, and action. Workshop presentation at the Coalition of Schools Educating Mindfully Conference [online].

Cosantino, J., & Davis, E. (2020, December). Consciousness-raising, coalition-building, and building bridges across difference: Exploring the possibilities for collective liberation through intergroup dialogues. Panel presentation at the 10th International Conference on Social Justice in Education [online].

Cosantino, J. (2020, November). Transforming Intergroup Dialogues With Mindfulness-Based Anti-Racist Practices. Poster presentation at the Mind and Life Institute Conference online.

Cosantino, J., & Davis, E. (2020, October). Being whole: A critical reflection on the nuance of emotional embodiment and subjectivities within intergroup dialogues in higher education. Symposium session scheduled for 6th International Conference for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL.

Davis, E. J., Lima, S., & Sacko, A. (2020, October). A dialogue on race and ethnicity: The pursuit of becoming whole. Workshop session scheduled for 7th Biennial Seneca Falls Dialogues on “Questioning the past, disrupting the present, building the future.” Virtual, web-based conference based in Seneca Falls, NY.

Roquemore, K., Davis, E., Martinez, A., & Cosantino, J. (2020, October). Disability Justice, Higher Education, and Pandemic Learning. Symposium presentation for the American Educational Studies Association (AESA) Conference in San Antonio, TX. [Conference canceled due to COVID-19].

Scully, I.M.E. (2020, November). “Indigequeering Land Pedagogy: Wesakecahk (Trickster) Consciousness in Dialogues Across Difference.” Research presented at Seneca Falls Dialogue Conference [online].

Davis, E. & Cosantino, J. (2020, September). Being Whole: A Critical Reflection on the Nuance of Emotional Embodiment and Subjectivities within Intergroup Dialogues in Higher Education. Workshop presentation at the Center for Culturally Responsive Education and Assessment (CREA) Conference in Chicago, IL. [Conference canceled due to COVID-19]. 

Cosantino, J. (2020, April). Forging New Spoken and Unspoken Ground: The Intersections of Mindfulness, Participatory Collaboration, and Intellectual Disability. Symposium paper presentation at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA. [Conference canceled due to COVID-19].

Jackson-Cofield, D. (2019, June). Expanding intergroup dialogue method to cultivate global student and staff leaders. Workshop at the National Conference on Intergroup Dialogue, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Swords, D. (2019, June). Intergroup dialogue, constructive conflict, and social power: Towards transforming inequality. Poster presented at the National Conference on Intergroup Dialogue, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Swords, D. (2018, September). Intergroup dialogue, social power, and conflict transformation. Presentation at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration. Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY.

Friday, L. G., & Swords, D. (2018, May). Wisdom and warnings: Organizing for transformation from the Piedmont to the nation. Paper presentation at the second Mobilization Conference on Nonviolent Strategies: Ethnicity, Race, and Radicalism held at San Diego State University.

Jackson, D. & Moore, A. (2018, March). Disrupting labels, embracing difference, and facilitating change. Workshop session at the annual NASPA (Student Affairs Professionals in Higher Education) meeting held in Philadelphia, PA.

Jackson, D., & Romo, D. (2018, March). Bridging relationships across difference: Using intergroup dialogue to cultivate global student and staff leaders. Pre-conference workshop at the annual NASPA (Student Affairs Professionals in Higher Education) meeting held in Philadelphia, PA.

Lopez, G. E. (2017, October). Engaged learning, engaged scholarship: Social identities and intersectionality across educational contexts, invited presentation at Stages of Change: Dialogue in a Liberal Arts Context, day-long symposium held at Colgate University, Hamilton, NY.

Lopez, G. E. (2017, October). Featured panelist, Institutionalizing intergroup dialogue to improve campus culture, session chaired by C. Hsu, Stages of Change: Day-Long Symposium Promoting Dialogue Across and About Difference, held at Colgate University, Hamilton, NY.

Romo, D., & Jackson, D. (2017, October). Social justice pedagogy and university/community partnerships: How to critically engage youth in activism. Best practices presentation at the annual conference of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities, Denver, CO.

Lopez, G. E., Gurin, P., Romo, D., Rodriguez-Newhall, A., Williams-Brown, K., & Dew, L. (2017, June). Facilitating dialogue, learning, and action: How are we preparing students for civic engagement? Featured session at Biennial Intergroup Dialogue Conference, “Dialogue in Context,” Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

Swords, D., & Abdul-Qadir, E. (2017, June). Intergroup dialogue and social power: Towards transforming inequality. Workshop presentation at Biennial Intergroup Dialogue Conference, “Dialogue in Context,” Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

Swords, D. (2017, April). Intergroup Dialogue, Social Power, and Conflict Transformation. Conference presentation at “The Conflict Conference”, Moody School of Communications, University of Texas, Austin, TX.

Lopez, G. E., & Romo, D. (2016, October). The significance of dialogue across educational spaces: College, school, community. Presentation at Imagining America (IA) National Conference, Milwaukee, WI.

Swords, D. (2016, September). Intergroup Dialogue, Social Power, and Conflict Transformation. Conference presentation at “Transforming Intractable Conflicts” Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration, Syracuse University Maxwell School, Syracuse, NY.

Lopez, G. E., Ficarra, J., & Williams, K. (2015, November). Women in science: Working across difference. Invited presentation to Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Program at Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY.

Williams, K. (2015, June). Decolonizing dialogue boundaries through social identity. Presentation at Northeastern Intergroup Relations Conference, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY.

Soto, J. (2015, June). Engaging race in the dialogic space: Critical self-reflection from a faciltitator of color. Presentation at Northeastern Intergroup Relations Conference, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY.

Bartholomew, J. (2015, June). Dialoguing about the center: Whiteness, dialogue, and process. Presentation at Northeastern Intergroup Relations Conference, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY.

Swords, D. (June, 2015). Applying intergroup dialogue beyond the classroom. Presentation at Northeastern Intergroup Relations Conference, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY.

Lopez, G. E., & Nastasi, A. W. (2015, April). Diverse benefits: The significance of learning from difference for college and high school students. Research presentation as part of symposium (A. Stuart Wells, Chair), “In search of the educational benefits of diversity: Connecting the scholarship in higher education to K-12 schools and classrooms,” at the annual meeting of American Educational Research Association (AERA), Chicago, IL.

Williams, K. (2015, February). Decolonizing the academy: Dialogue spaces as a model. Research paper presented at the meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society, New York City, NY.

Lopez, G. E. (2014, October). Invited panelist, Closing the academic achievement gap and improving the classroom experience, session chaired by T. B. Culbertson, “Addressing critical needs: Cultivating alliances and committing to a culture of racial and ethnic inclusion in legal education” at the Syracuse University College of Law Conference, Syracuse, NY.

Lopez, G. E., & Rodriguez, J. (Co-chairs)(2014, April). Testing the theory and practice of intergroup dialogue: Possibilities, outcomes, and limitations. Research symposium at the annual meeting of American Educational Research Association (AERA), Philadelphia, PA.

Nastasi, A. W., & Lopez, G. E. (2014, April). Exploring authentic higher education – high school collaboration toward thick democracy. Research presentation at the annual meeting of American Educational Research Association (AERA), Philadelphia, PA.

For information about Intergroup Dialogue research projects, visit our projects page.

Engaged BIPOC Scholar-Practitioner Program Link

The School of Education offers a program for a yearly cohort of BIPOC graduate students, at the doctoral and masters levels, to create community, build and sustain support, and inform institutional change. The program, started in 2021, has been funded (co-sponsored) through the SOE Dean’s Office, the Intergroup Dialogue Program, the Graduate School, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and Hendricks Chapel.

For more information, visit the Engaged BIPOC Scholars webpage or contact: engagedBIPOC@syr.edu

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Link

CNY Educators of Color Dialogue – partnership between SOE Study Council and Intergroup Dialogue Program Link

SU News recently featured the CNY Educators of Color Dialogue facilitated by Prof. Courtney Mauldin and CFE doctoral student and IGD facilitator Easton Davis. For more, visit the School of Education’s News and Events Page 

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Welcome SUCOL Student Leaders to Transformative Dialogue! Link

Syracuse University College of Law student leaders are invited to Transformative Dialogue, a 5-week co-curricular dialogue developed in partnership with the Intergroup Dialogue Program. This intergroup dialogue brings together a committed group of second and third year Law students, every Friday in October, for two hours, to share and explore: lived experiences of social identities, socialization, intersectionality, power and privilege, systemic racism, critical issues in our current educational and national landscape/climate, and collective actions.

This Transformative Dialogue will be co-facilitated by Professor Suzette Melendez, faculty director of inclusion initiatives at the Syracuse University College of Law, and Intergroup Dialogue Program facilitator and teaching assistant Easton Davis, a doctoral student in the department of Cultural Foundations of Education at the School of Education. We are excited to partner together on this important initiative, with these dynamic students, at this urgent time for recognizing and naming systemic inequities while building strong and constructive community for change.

Questions?

Feel free to reach out to us: Easton Davis (edavis13@syr.edu) and Gretchen Lopez (gelopez@syr.edu)

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Dialogue with the Land, Dialogue with Each Other Link

This Co-Curricular Dialogue, in partnership with the Native Student Program, brings together Black, Indigenous and Students of Color (BIPOC) with BIPOC community members to reflect on the importance of land/other-than-human beings as partners in the practice of dialogue and building relationships. In this space, participants ask questions about how understandings of and relations to bodies of lands and waters can often reflect colonial constructs of bodies of humans in order to imagine justice-oriented futures, cultivate communities of care, and find healing reprieve in the land. Drawing on Indigenous epistemology and pedagogy, Indigenous land pedagogy, and Intergroup Dialogue research and practice, dialogue sessions are facilitated by Ionah Scully (Cree-Metis, Michel First Nation), PhD Candidate, who brings in accessible, land-based activity and journaling prompts for participants to engage in between each session. Scully’s work was awarded the New York Public Humanities Grant (2021), which has expanded this dialogue to include more community-based journaling sessions in continued partnership with both the Intergroup Dialogue and the Native Student Programs.

For more, please reach out to Ionah M. Elaine Scully, Intergroup Dialogue Facilitator and PhD Candidate in Cultural Foundations of Education at: mescully@syr.edu

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Homebase BIPOC Dialogues Link

Co-facilitated by Easton Davis, Ph.D. Student – Cultural Foundations of Education, and Bushra Naqi – Public Relations major in S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications (2023), this new co-curricular initiative is designed as a healing, restorative space for students of color to explore emotions, cultural expressions, and knowledge-making processes in relation to the body. This is a five week, co-curricular series developed in partnership . During the series, students engage in grounding techniques and art-based activities. Open to up to 12 participants who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of color, students are invited to rethink definitions of rage, love, joy, hope, and vulnerability.

Email Easton Davis with any questions: edavis13@syr.edu

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CNY Teachers of Color Dialogues Link

The Syracuse University Study Council and the Intergroup Dialogue Program partner to offer educators of color in Central New York an opportunity to participate in the development of a supportive online community facilitated by Dr. Courtney Mauldin, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership in the Teaching and Leadership, and Easton Davis, PhD Student – Cultural Foundations of Education. The series is an intentional healing space to welcome educators together in a space wherein participants can engage in difficult conversations and practice healing justice.

Participants receive a welcome kit and mentor text on behalf of the Syracuse University Study Council and Intergroup Dialogue Programs.

For more information, please see the News and Events Page.

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Campus Partnerships Link

The Intergroup Dialogue Program is associated with the interdisciplinary academic department of Department of Cultural Foundations of Education, located in the School of Education. The project has received funding and support through the Chancellor’s Initiative Fund, the Office of Academic Affairs and the Division of Student Affairs. Our program is strengthened through cross-university collaboration including:

• Department of Communications and Rhetorical Studies
• Department of Sociology
• Department of Women’s and Gender Studies
• Department of Social Work
• College of Law Student Affairs
• LGBT Resource Center
• Native Student Program
• Office of Multicultural Affairs
• Hendricks Chapel
• Humanities Center
• SU ADVANCE
• SU Literacy Corps, Shaw Center for Public & Community Service
• La Casita Cultural Center
• Community Folk Art Center
• Office of Residence Life
• Student Leadership Institute

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Community Partnerships Link

The Intergroup Dialogue Program has also collaborated with local high school teachers, students, and schools on within-school and across-school dialogue-based initiatives including:

• “Raising Our Voices,” a cross-school institute on the university campus
• Spotlighting Justice, a participatory youth collaborative with tenth grade students
• Lit Arts, an after-school program centering art-based social justice education and dialogue to support youth public engagement.